A Case Study #1 - Lars and the Real Girl
Actually, I took the time today (December 11, 2008) to watch the entire movie up to the one hour mark. At first, many people might suggest that Lars does have a mental illness because he believes that Bianca is a real human being. Just like other normal people, the characters in the movie were stunned when Lars introduced this plastic figurine which he called his girlfriend to them. After the death of his parents and being isolated from his brother, Lars became antisocial and felt burning when a person touched him. But he continued to go to work, talk, and showed no signs of mental disorder. Like the psychologist in the movie, I believe that something just caused him to snap and hallucinate, protecting himself from the world. But his actions did not portray violence to others which contradicts the definition of a mental disorder. Yes, he does have a problem. However, that problem is not necessarily a mental disorder. He was not born with a misplaced gene, he did not have a tragic childhood, but rather, he was a normal everyday person with a normal job and a normal life. Also, when Bianca comes into the story, Lars changes into a completely normal human being who interacts with others, attending parties and other social gatherings. A mental disorder doesn't lable a person who just happens to act somewhat different from others.

A Case Study #2 - Anne
People these days have a tendency to think that if a person does not follow the majority, then something is bizarre about them. In my opinion, Anne does not show a type of mental disorder because she is not causing harm to anybody else and expresses enjoyment in what she is doing. Others just interfere in her life and express their disapproval even though she had never contacted them first. In some ways, it may cause others to feel queasy, but not necessarily everyone.
In one of the sentences, Anne expressed her disapproval at the meaninglessness of most people's activities which people can agree with. All she does is follow her own dreams and thinking that are just different from others. However, this story does not explain if she can be persuaded or not which does make a difference in the argument.

It might be mostly based on visuals, because if a normal teenager pursues one career, then nobody says anything. However, because of her weird appearance,